how much am i looking at?

[TheUltimateNoob]

how much am i looking at in terms of total cost for a complete 90g, 120g, or 180g tank setup? just a rough estimate from those of you who have experience with these sized tanks or from anyone else who would just happen to know. in terms of total cost i mean all the essentials: tank, stand, lighting, pumps, heaters, sumps, etc. you get the picture. i'm kind of scared of getting these responses.

[Brimarbio]

depends on what you're aiming for but I'd say a range of $800-$3,000 would be a good guess. Could be WAY more though, depending on how fancy you get and how savy a shopper you are.

[TheUltimateNoob]

to be a full blown reef tank.

[this is me]

the question is "how much money do you have?" :lol:

[amixam98]

How come you are not including sand, LR, and fishes.

[TheUltimateNoob]

yeah all that stuff too. just about everything. i was trying to get some people who have these size tanks to let me know how much they have invested in these respective tanks to get a rough estimate of how much i would be in for.

[Brimarbio]

Ok, well there's gonna be tons of debate about this but my first tank was a 65g with PC lighting, fully blown reef tank from which I eventually grew frags for many members of BRS, and that ran me about $600. That said I've since upgraded and such and am probably pushing $1,500 on a 90g and much of that is reused equipment from other tanks. I still say you COULD do it for less but chances are it's gonna run you around 2-3K. JMHO, many may disagree...

[dougc]

I have often heard that a good yardstick is to figure about $30/gallon. On my new 210, I am pretty close to that. I did not cut any corners this time, but I did some DIY and bought a few expensive items used, so I didn't pay top dollar. There are some things that I guess I could live without, like the AquaController, but I want to give myself the best chance of success. Having lost corals, fish, and ultimately a whole tank to problems that could be traced to a lack of redundancy, cheap equipment, or unnoticed failures, I did not want to make compromises this time around.

[KAS]

The numbers I've read are $30-50 per gallon. This is for all new equipment, 30 for good stuff, and 50 for top of the line. Of course, you can do much better if you buy used, and are very patient about waiting for the right deals on this forum or in the want ads. For example, great deals can be had on MH lighting, but it might not happen for a few months!

[denvig]

$25 to $50 bucks per gal. You can try to do it cheeper but you WILL get there no matter how hard you try not to. ;)

[Britrover]

Hey - TheUltimateNoob,

I just set up a 90 gallon and documented all my expenses. If you want I can email the complete breakdown to you in doc file.

Cheers

[crimson156]

it definately takesd time to get a tank if u do it used for a good price, i waited about 5months be4 i found the deal of the century.
for my 150 all set up w/corals fish etc i figure i've spent around 1500

[Scott Merrill]

Originally posted by denvig
$25 to $50 bucks per gal. You can try to do it cheeper but you WILL get there no matter how hard you try not to. ;)

i second that.
if you try to go cheap..... it will cost you more.

you will get what you pay for in this hobby.

[TheUltimateNoob]

britrover,
that would be great. could you email it to me at
pk48 [at] cornell [dot] edu
thanks.

[Scuba_Dave]

setup a 30g - FO cheap $$, setup 60g hex - free tank & pump, then moved all from 30g to 55g (55g was free), moved to new house, setup 125g
Total over $6k, and I didnt buy top of the line, some used, tank was new, but a deal at $138
And my tank isnt fully stocked, and still need a 3rd light
So yeah, $25 a gallon is a start, $50 a gallon is more realistic with a full blown reef
Most of that is over the past year, and maybe 1/3 over the past 3 months for the 125g

[shermlock]

Please forgive me for butting in Bostonians...Go Red Sox...Is it o.k. if I speak now?

I picked up this topic on the "get new" button and since I have just completed a small project, and posted on my clubs site, I thought I could help a bit.

When I started this small project, I knew it was going to be expensive. I tried to get quality used stuff first but you know how that goes. Here is a list of what I bought and how much I paid for it.

used tank, stand, canopy 250
used PFO duel 250 MH with 2 month old bulbs, moguls, and spider reflectors (not using) 140
sump - DIY - full sheet acrylic and glue 140
used Euro-Reef 5-2 150
used mag 7 with new impeller 35
new mag 9.5 (www.petsolutions.com sale) 60
heater - took it off fresh water set up free
pvc and fittings 60
reflector from a club guy who sells lights 15
scwd Christmas present free
algae mag. Christmas present
Sand 3 bags of SD from HD 21.00
70lbs Live Rock - a student who is going off to
college gave it to me free

Wood for DIY canopy 25
fans for canopy 15ea 30 CompUSA computer fans that are large, silent and blow the perfect amount of air to keep the water temp down but allow the MH to heat up enough to reach optimal performance.

Bulkheads 15
Drill bit for holes 20
Salt 200 gallons 35
Refractometer 50
Glimmer lines - Priceless

I think that is all for a total of 1046 for a 60 gallon with pretty good equipment.
I sure did use all of my handyman skills putting this together. A little woodworking, electrical, and plumbing all in one little project.

I also think $1046 for what I have is a really good deal (if the used stuff holds up - always a risk). There are a ton of people out there who are moving up or down and most of the reefers out there want to give people a good deal on "stuff."

Scott

Tank as it stands now.

[dad300]

25-50 sounds right from my end too. 29 gal spent 300 + at christmas another 300 in the last month and in the original start up 300. Oh yeah and I don't have the lights I want yet. I'm looking 500+ there.
whats there comes out at 48.25 a gal. and I'm not close to being stocked.

[TheUltimateNoob]

ummm...yeah....it's gonna be a while until i upgrade my 29g. lol. some of these figures you guys are giving me are mind-boggling. i wish i could have won that 250 million mega millions last week. oh man, i can just picture the tank now....

[absolut]

It's sounds like a lot of money up front.....buuutt it seems like it's not as bad when you drag it out and spend little chucks of cash at a time and then go back and figure out how much you actually spent.
When I started my tank
I had to upgrade/buy one thing at a time and then wait a month or two until I could buy something else.

[Scuba_Dave]

You can do it little by little, and just keep adding on. and you can get some good deals. I bought everything gearing up for the 125g. I bought a 100gpd RO/DI with 125g in mind. I bought a dual 250w MH with upgrading in mind, I only used 1 light until I moved. Bought extra LR at a good price & housed it in the 30g, then the 55g as I bought more

[denvig]

You can do a little by little or go used etc. But buy GOOD stuff that you WANT not "This should be good enough" That will cost you more (A lot more) than buying the right thing in the first place.

[spyro]

Don't go cheap an/or DIY unless you know exactly what you are doing. Just look at the "disaster" threads if you need convincing.

Buy the best quality you can afford and then buy quality spares and do not forget a controller with alarms, etc...

Regards,
Chuck Spyropulos